Botanical Garden in Trastevere

While the heat was still tolerable last week a few of the girls and I decided to explore the Botanical Garden called Orto Botanico in Trastevere. Although it is only a short walk from our apartment, once inside you feel like you are in a completely different place. The annoying sounds of the city disappear, along with the horrid smell of trash and body odor. Instead you hear birds chirping, ducks splashing in the pond, and smell fresh flowers and sap. It is the perfect place to escape the hectic and rapid pace of the city and clear your head as you walk around the grounds.

Although I was expecting to see many more flowers in bloom, I was still impressed by what was there. Immediately upon entering the garden you were greeted by enormously tall trees, with long leafy branches. At our first stop we all different types of cactus plants. I've never actually seen cactus in nature so it was neat to see how it grows. As we moved along through the grounds we wondered into a green room filled with the most interesting cactus I have ever seen. There were cactus roses that were green with red edges. If you didn't look close enough you would think that they were real roses.

Further along on our exploration of the garden we saw bamboo stalks that were at least 15 feet high. I couldn't believe that one space was able to allow cactus, bamboo, and roses to grow. I didn't know that all three were able to survive in similar climates.

As we continued walking we climbed up the top of hill and saw an incredible view of Rome. The trees in the garden acted like a frame around St. Peter's dome. It turned out to be a great picture!

I was sad to leave the garden and enter the noisy city of Rome again. I liked the peacefulness of the garden and the ability to clear my head. I wish I would have found the space sooner so that I could have escaped their when the apartment was too much for me to handle, but I am just glad I was able to see when I did.